In a plumbing system for a pool or spa, many components may be fluidly connected together, including a pool filter, a water heater, heat exchanger, salt chlorine generators and various valves and controllers. The components are fluidly connected together by piping, such as PVC pipe. In operation, the water in the pool flows from the pool, through the plumbing system, including the filter, various valves and pump(s), the water heater, and the chlorine generator (if one is necessary) and other components, and back to the pool.
There are many ways to connect the components to one another. In many systems, however, the design of individual components, such as the pump, filter, valves, heaters and so on, are often not considered within the context of the overall plumbing system, thus leading to an inefficient layout and joining of the components. For example, traditional heat exchanger header structures for pool and spa heaters, such as the one shown in FIG. 9, often have the inlet and outlet ports on the same side and in a common geometric plane with one another. As another example, traditional pool filters also often have the inlet and outlet ports on the same side. These configurations make it more likely to have to use cross-over tubing layouts, and extra angles in the tubing to fluidly connect the heat exchanger and pool filter to the surrounding components.
In other words, little coordination, if any, has previously existed in the pool equipment market to ensure the exit point of one piece of equipment either aligns or matches the entrance point of any other piece of equipment. Hence, the pool plumber has been required to make the connections with custom cut-to-length pipe and a multitude of fittings. The various elevations of plumbing connection points results in the need for additional bends and turns with the associated required fittings, and often reduces hydraulic flow.